Stirring apparatus for glass in forehearths



p 1951 w. P. SPIGENER STIRRING APPARATUS FOR GLASS IN FOREHEARTHS Filed July 29, 1949 2 Sheets-Sheet l (NV/5N TO I? WILLIAM I? SP/GENER A TTORNEYS Sept. 25, 1951 w. P. SPIGENER STIRRING APPARATUS FOR GLASS IN FOREHEARTHS Filed July 29, 1949 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTO'R WILL/AM SP/GE/VER 3y PM 'rTomvevs Patented Sept. 25, 1951 APPARATUSWFOR FOBEHEABIHS GLASS William .P. gspigener, Ehnwood; \.Gonn., assignor I Y t i inliar Menilfe n r m'ne x, .a name.-

f D la are This invention relates to improvements in -;means :for loperatively supporting and. rotating 1a: vertical stirrer'or stirrers for molten glass in :;a forehearth-a-s, for example, in ,the manner and -for -;the purposes :disclosed in U. S. Patent (N -"2;46f1;8l)9;Qf.April 19, 1949.

.11m-;ob.ieqt of .the'inventionris to provide stirrer :suppontingand;operating means constructed and .arrangedso ithat the stirrer or stirrers supported therebypanlbevraised vertieally out of the fore hearth andgthereafter swun at the elevated :lev el to oneside of the ,forehearth where such st rrer .or stirrers ean be exam n eai y an re si-lyeby a xlwo sman-rsten ine a e teme y catwalk at the side of the forehearth and returned c 0 servie withe t bein 'c et e 0r lh ndledzi imsee rq diti con nie t a .rremor l :ens er2 eee if th a ion ns e su port n and era n e s ir er r :etirrer ee rden i h t rre v A vention greatly facilitates change of stirr er veee i e iiees h tim r qui ed' tb 'fe b eduees pe s nal haza d xt ,,a wo k or or rnen employed :to do this, rand permits exam- 3 ination and return to service ,of stirrers while 'l operativeiytlipported and connected to the stirrer operating; rn.eans without handling if they rar etin good ioondition. Such means also perrnitsa stirrer or stirrers which have been raised I h l e r l @i-QIflQfiflihfih q to 1 oned ttliereabove so that any glass adhering reto may drain .ba c k into the glass in the hearth before lateral swinging movement of ehw t rre o stirr here v ob i ing ing of glass 01 the fiorehearth roof structure. s upporting Ine ans ,of the invention also allows ione et e wsupp t d t rn d o r e- InQlit lstirrer or stirrers to be lowered slowly into "the n oltenjglass in ,the f orehearth channel s0 1:.

aste avoid breakage due to heat shock.

' lQt i r ebiect and ad nt of t invention hereinafter will be pointed out or Will become apparent from the following description of a practical embodiment thereof as illustrated in theaccon panying drawings, in which:

F-ig; -1 is atransverse section through a foreghear-th equipped with a pair -of i vertical stirrers supported and operated--by-mean s of the present invention, the stirrersand the operating and-suppor-ting-means' therefor being shown in full lines 111 the -positions-they occupy when the stirrers shave: been raised vertically out of. the forehearth, the view alsoshowingrby .dot-and-dashslines the positions of ther-stirrers and. 1 theirsoverhanging supporting arm when the stirrers areoperatively disposed in the :forehearth and by dotted'ilin'es the positions of these :same parts when the elevated stirrers have been swung laterally :to one sidelof 'theeforel'iearthj i iFig. arrel'atively enlarged section along line:2r:2 OflFigL'I;

vFig; 3 is a gf-ragmentary elevation of a lower portion'of ethe supporting .and operating"- means 6WQdrf T0 theiin 3.1-3, ok i e ire ti np z heer qw 1 .14 i e :fr e i it e w of I eo e etir e ement i e et h neen su erti vie -to to v, 19f thee e eine new i rer ermis i eview g these elen ents separated as they appea whe the are e s ai e hel -fl ei i n-th t r r ene el the finei h zfe ehe i v Ei :5 is e ir emee e enlen e ef t ere et v i-i te i el m e i mer -ea positions a viewedjronithe line} 5 of liigl l "3 arners emer e ireeeent r' re tic se ion 1 v' w of th upper portion of the sup rtin L, te i b iiimleiii the? view also showing the ppper portions of the elevating an s'tirrerf'rotating shafts.

7 Inli'ig. lfafoiehe'elrth, generally designated l',*-i'n eludes a channel 2 which, in use, contains a stream of moltenfglass, not shown. Vertical stirring implements 3' andllhave screw threaded lowe r glass stirring-portions '3a' and 4a, respectively, which ar e immersedin the glassintlie forehearth channel when the stirrers are opera- --tive-ly positioned "-therein'as indicated by the dot-and-dashlines. In sueh operative positions, 1 the stirring iimplementsmare .s'paced transversely .v ofhthe forehearth channel and. depend Tromrver- .tical spindlesifi which. ar'errotatably supported: by suitable vertically spaced uppenandiloweribearingsjlii and z'lprespectively, (on a. horizontallyi-idisipo'sed marrying. arm generally designated =8.

eThe ;,con'nection, of the, stirrers-;3 and :4 with theirrspindles may compr se ehu ksi 9 ie ael ehly r connected-l ,b-y eouplings to ithe .lower ends ,pf

.zthe spindles zT-hemartrc, ar means ior de- JtaGhQbIYi=COIJHGi7iDgQLhe stirrin impl ments,wit

thertertiealrspindlesi anal. nrqtatahlyim uptin the spindles on the supporting arm 8 do not, per se, form part of the present invention and any suitable means may be employed.

The supporting arm 8 is mounted at one end on an upper tubular section II of a vertical tubular post or column, generally designated I2, which includes also a lower tubular section I3 which is supported on a side of the forehearth as presently will be pointed out and with which the tubular upper section II is telescopically associated. As shown, the supporting arm 8 is firmly secured on upper tubular section II by a split collar I4. this split collar at the opposite side thereof from the arm 8 and carries a, counterweight I 6. The lower section I3 of the supporting post or column depends, as best seen in Fig. 6, through a fixed position tubular support I! which is provided with vertically spaced bracket arms I8 and I9, respectively, Fig. 1, attached to the adjacent side 20 of the forehearth channel casing'2l. Obavio'usly, the support II may be secured in a fixed position relative to the forehearth in any suitable way.

Below the stationary support I1, the lower end "of the lower section I3 of the tubular supporting column I2 fits in and is firmly secured to an up- -turned tubular boss 22 on the top or cover section 23 of a clutch and gear box, generally designated 24. The box 24 includes a main or body section 25 on which the cover section 23 is secured, as by cap screws 26. See Fig. 6. The support of the lower section I3 of the tubular column on the fixed position tubular support --I'I is by an antifriction thrust bearing 21, Fig. 6, which is operatively disposed between the flanged upper end portion I'Ia of the: support I! and a flange I3a which is secured on the tubular sec- .tionI3, as by welding as indicated at 28, or in any other suitable known way. With the construction just described, the .section I3 of the 'tubular supporting post or column is mounted to turn about its vertical axis and supports the gear and clutch box 24 to turn therewith.

The upper section II of thetubular'supporting post or column is movable vertically in relation to the lower section I3 with which it is telescopically associated by the co-action of the threaded upper end portion 29a of a jack shaft 29 with a nut 30 which is secured, as by the pins 3I, Fig. '7, in the upper end portion of the section II. The vertical 7 jack shaft-29 extends through the upright tubular post or column I2 from the upper part of the gear and clutch box 24, being rotatably mounted therein and held against any appreciable axial movement by opposed upper and lower thrust bearings 32 and 33, respectively, in the upper and lower ends of the lower tubular section I3, the upper thrust bearing 32 being shown in Fig. 1 v and the lower thrust bearing 33 being shown in -Fig. 6. For turning the jack screw 29 to raise or lower the upper section I I of the supporting post to raise or lower the stirrer arm 8 and the stirrers -depending therefrom, a suitable reversible drive mechanism is provided and an example thereof will now be described. "As shown in Fig. 6, a bevel gear 34 is secured, as by a pin 35, to the lower end portion of the jack screw 29 within the upper part of the gear and clutch box 24. The gear 34 is in mesh with opposed bevel gears 36 and 31, respectively, which are loose on a horizontally disposed driven shaft 38 which is operatively supported in the box 24,

as-by having its opposite end portions mounted A rigid arm I5 extends from V in antifriction bearings 39 and 40, respectively, iii suitably apertured opposite end wall portions of the body section 25 of the box 24. The gears 36 and 31 carry driven clutch cup members 4| and 42, respectively, for cooperating with clutch disc assemblies 43 and 44, respectively, at the opposite ends of a conventional double throw double friction clutch mechanism, generally in-' dicated at 45. Any other suitably known clutch construction may be used. When the clutch 45 is shifted to the right as viewed in Fig. 6, the driven clutch cup 42 will be engaged and the gear 3T will be driven with the shaft 38, thereby turning:

the jack screw 29 in one direction about its axis.-

With the shaft 38 rotating in the direction indicated by the direction arrow in Fig. 6, the direction of turning of the jack screw 29 about its axis when the gear 31 is driven will be counterclockwise as indicated by the direction arrow 46. This will lower the upper section of the tubular column and the supporting arm 8 thereon. When the clutch 45 has been actuated to engage the driven clutch member 43 on the bevel gear 36, the direction of rotation of the jack screw 29 will be reversed and then will be as indicated by the direction arrow 41. This is the direction of rotation of the jack screw to elevate the upper section II of the tubular post and the supporting stirrer arm 8 to the positions shown by full lines in Fig. 1. A conventional clutch shifter fork 48 may be employed to shift the clutch 45 from its intermediate, neutral position as shown in Fig. 6 either to the right to effect downward movement of the stirrer arm 8 or to the left to effect raising of that arm.

The clutch shifting fork 48 is carried by a horizontal rock shaft 49 which is suitably supported as by means such as indicated at 50 on the bottom of the box 24, the opposite ends of such shaft projecting from opposite sides of the box 24 as indicated at 49a. and 491), respectively. One of these ends may be provided with a manually operable hand lever 5|, Fig. 1. The opposite end is provided with a laterally extending rigid rocker arm 52. When the clutch 45 is in its intermediate, neutral position, this rocker arm 52 may be horizontal as shown by full lines in Fig. 3. When the clutch is shifted to the right as viewed in Fig. 6, the lateral rocker arm 52 will be raised to the position indicated by the dotted lines in Fig. 3 against the lower end of a normally raised. spring loaded, vertically movable clutch throwout rod 53 which is located below and in the path of downward movement of a suitably located striker 54 on the upper section I I of the telescopic supporting post I2. When the section I2 is lowered by the jack screw to lowerthe stirrers into the forehearth, the striker 54 will push the rod 53 downward against the rocker arm 52 so as to return the clutch 45 to its intermediate, neutral position when the stirrers have been lowered until their lower ends are at the desired level above the bottom of the forehearth channel. This is a safety device to prevent the lower ends of the stirrers striking the bottom of the forehearth channel. The rod 53 is vertically guided in any suitable manner, as by extending slidably through suitable apertures in the bracket arms I8 and I9 and through a flange 20a on the side 20 of the forehearth channel casing. Stop means, as the nuts 55, may be provided on the rod 53 beneath the bracket arm I8 for co-acting with a coil spring 56 on the rod above the flange 20a and beneath nuts 51 on the upper end of the j pulleys generally indicated at 61! an w movement thereof under the impactlof the striker .54 to effect timely disengagement of the clutch from the jack screw driving gear 31:

The shaft 38 is driven fror'rfi' a suitable prime mover, which may be a conventional motor arid speed reduction unit shown diagrammatically at 58 in Fig. 1. This driving unit is suspended, as

box 2'4 so as to turn with the latter; Mot en transmission means, shownas a belt, and'suitable new the drive shaft 61 hi the uni countershaft 52 which extends anst i e-1y acro s the upper pa 'o h' 't' r 'fl ihfiil 12]], being suitably rotatably supported in the desired position therein. The shaft'fl carries a which is keyed'at 65 to the shaft 38. I a

The provisions just described iaifo'rd faciiities for raising and lowering the arm 8 to 'di'sfpose'it in an elevated position above the forehearth channel, as shown in full lines in Fig. 1-,-cr in its lines in the same view. The forehe'arth l -comprises a cover structure 66 including individually movable roof blocks represented by that shown at 6 in Fig. l which normally surround the shanks of the stirrers and may be moved ai'aart the rod-f blocks.

I When the arm '8 is in its lowered, service position, at which it extends transversely across the fore-hearth channel, a depending latchingele- "them 68 on the extremity of that arm depends through a vertical aperture 69 in fa stationary latching arm 10 on a post "H which is *carried by a bracket "52 secured 'to astationary siipport 13. This may be the side of the forehea'rth channel casing 21 opposite "that which 'cariies the supporting post 12. The latch'ing'el'e'ment $8 is shown as a bolt having a non-circular headfla at its lower end appropriately conf gured and of a suitable size to descend throughia suitably configured and sized aperture 69 in the stationary latching arm l when the headfiiic is 'turnedso that its major transverse axis coincides with that of the aperture 69. The bolt jiflextends through a vertical opening 114 the eggtremit'y of the arm. 8 and is providedabovethe latter with adjustable stop means such as the jfnu indic'ated at 15. "Thus, when 'thefarm'ii is jin'its lowered service position and the bolt E8 d,e' I through the aperture'BB in the 'fixedpos tio latching arm 10, the head 811 may 'ibe' tu'rned transversely of the'aperture 59 as'shown in Fig; and the nut then may be tightened ifr'equired to assure firm latchingof the arm 8 'toth' jfi'x'fed position arm in and 'seating'of the'bottq of the extremity of the arm 8 on the top extremity of the-arm 18 as showninFig. '1. To release the arm "8, it then isonly'nec'essary to loosen the nut 1-5 if required and "to turn the head-88mm that'it *wil1 bemoved upwa d'throu n the correspondingly shaped aperture '89 simply by -raising the'arim 8. I p

As the stirring implements E3 anid d a'n'd the :arm '8 are raised from their dot-'and -da sh ih'e ipositions to the fullline positions-showninFig. 11,

glass adhering to these suinngimpiementsmay at 59, from the bottbm of the gear arid ut'ch worm 63, Fig. 6, in meshiwi'th a worm ge r 564 J service position, as shown by the d'oFahd-dash iin'esin Fig. l.

'drair1- back into the 'foreh'earth channel. 1 When th hasbeen compl'etedthe arm'8, its-supporting column lithe gear and clutch box 24 and driving unit 58 depending therefrom may be turned as a unit about the axis of the column I2 toposition theelevated arm 8 and depending stirrers in "their laterally-swung positions as shown by dotted The stirrers then may be examined quickly and safely by-a workman standi'ng on a catwalk '(not shown) adjacent to the -forehearth. If the stirrers are in good condition, they may be returned toservice by swinging the arm 8 and attached stirrers back to their run line positions in Fig. 1 and then lowering them to the service positions indicated by the d'ot anded'ash lines. If replacement thereof is -required, this may be readily accomplished while the arm 8 is in its laterally swung elevatedpositio'n; It of course will be understood that the driving unit-may be stopped for replacement of stirrers and also if desired after thearm '8 has been elevated and while it is being swing back and forth in its elevated position. The driving unit will of course have conventional or other suitable-control means by which it can be started and stopped at will.

The same shaft that is used to turnthe j'ac'k screw 29 may also transmit power to thestirrer "spindles to rotate them about their individual axes. As shown in Fig. 6, the shaft 3'8 carries a worm 16 in mesh with a worm wheel 1-! on a vertical shaft 78 which is journaled at its lower end in a thrust bearing 19 in the bottom 'of the .box 24 and extends upwardly from the box 24 through an antifriction bearing 80 in a suitable aperture 8| in the top of the box 24. Above the box 24, the shaft I8 is connected by an overload release clutch .82 with an aligned vertical shaft 18a which may be retained in .proximity to the tubular column 12 by suitable retaining means. Such a means may comprise anapertured bracket arm 83 on the tubular boss 22. A bracket arm 84 projecting laterally and upwardly from the collar M by which the arm 8 is mounted on the tubular supporting post may be formed with vertically spaced branches 84a and 84b between which a driving sprocket 85 is rotatably disposed. The driving sprocket has a bore 86 aligned with vertical openings 81 and 88 in the vertically spaced branches 84a and 84b, respectively, of the bracket arm 84 and the shaft 18a extends slidably through these aligned openings 88, 86 and 81 as shown in Fig. 7. The sprocket 85 is shown. as being provided with a vertical spline 89 projecting from the wall of its bore into a vertical spline way 98 in the shaft lfla-so that the sprocket will be rotated by the shaft while being mounted for vertical sliding movement thereon. A chain 9l is trained about the sprocket 85 and around sprockets 92 individual to the spindles 5 and also about a guiding and chain tightening idle sprocket'93on an idle sprocket arm 94 mounted on the upper end of the split collar hub I4. See Fig. 1. The arrangement just described assures driving o'f the stirrers about their respei tiveaxes when the stirrers are in their service positions, as shown :by dot-and-dash lines in Fig. 1, and per- "i'riits the stirrers'to be elevated and swung. lateraljly when elevated without disturbance of .thedrivfng connection between the shaft 38 and the stirrer spindles.

"'stop means may .be provided to limit'the swing- ,in g ,movement .of the arm .8 from its outwardly *sw'uligiraised'position toiitselevated positionlover theforehearth'sothatthestirrers will be'located .erences or requirements.

wherein the means for rotating said spindle comin the forehearth as desired when the arm 8 has been lowered and also to assure alignment of the latching bolt 88 on the arm 8 with the aperture 69 in the fixed position latching arm Ill. As shown best in Figs. 2 and 3, an upstanding projection 95 on a bracket 96 attached to the rotary boss 22 on the top of the box 24 is adapted to strike an adjustable stop 91 in a fixed position arm 98 of a bracket 99 attached to the stationary column supporting tube I! when the column and arm 8 have been swung as a unit from the dotted position to the full line position of Fig. 1. The number of stirrers rotatably supported from the overhanging arm on the vertically movable upper section of the angularly turnable supporting column may vary according to particular widths of forehearth channels or diiferent pref- Whether one, two or more stirrers are included in such an assembly,

supporting and operating means therefor as provided by the present invention may be substantially as herein described and will provide advantages such as have been mentioned.

Many other changes in and modifications of the illustrative embodiment of the invention shown in the accompanying drawings and described in detail herein will now be apparent to the skilled workers in the art and I therefore do not wish to be limited to the details of such embodiment.

I claim:

1. A stirring apparatus for molten glass in a forehearth comprising a stationary vertical tubu lar support fixed to one side of the forehearth, a tubular column extending through and rotatably supported in said stationary tubular support, said tubular column including a vertically movable portion extending above the level of the forehearth, a substantially horizontal supporting arm of the column above and in overhanging relation to the forehearth, a jack screw rotatably mount- .ed in said column, a nut secured to said vertically -movable portion of the column and threadedly engaged with said jack screw, driving means carried by said column for operating the jack screw selectively in either of opposite directions to raise or lower said arm, a vertical spindle rotatably mounted on said arm in a position above the forehearth, a vertical stirrer operatively connect-' ed to said spindle to depend into the forehearth .to an operative position therein when said arm is in a relatively lowered position above the forehearth, and driving means mounted to move with said column when the latter is turned angularly about its axis and operatively connected with said spindle to rotate said spindle and the stirrer gears loosely mounted on said shaft and both engaged with the bevel gear on the jack screw,

" and a double throw clutch on said shaft for selectively connecting either of said opposed bevel gears with said driven shaft, and a prime mover also supported to turn with said column and operatively connected with said driven shaft.

3. A stirring apparatus, as defined by claim 2,

projecting from said vertically movable portionprises a vertical shaft journaled in said clutch and gear box, means in said box for driving said vertical shaft from said driven shaft therein, a vertical shaft above the gear box extending adjacent to said column, an overload release clutch operatively connecting said vertical shaft in said box with the second-named vertical shaft, a sprocket splined to said second-named vertical shaft and supported for movement with said supporting arm, and motion transmitting means opverati'vely connecting said sprocket with said spindle.

4. Stirring apparatus for molten glass in a forehearth comprising an upright tubular column located at one side of said forehearth and adjacent thereto and projecting above the level of the forehearth, said column comprising a tubular lowerportion mounted at a fixed level in relation to the forehearth so as to be angularly turnable about its vertical axis and a tubular upper portion mounted on the lower portion to slide vertically relative thereto and to turn angularly about its vertical axis with the lower portion, a substantially horizontal arm secured firmly at one end, to said vertically movable and angularly turnable upper portion of said column in position to overhang the forehearth when said upper portion of the column is in one angularly turned position about its vertical axis, a rotatable vertical stirring implement depending from said arm to an operative position in said forehearth when said arm is disposed in overhanging relation to the forehearth and the upper portion of said column is in a relatively lowered position, means extending Within said tubular column and having an operative engagement with the upper portion of said column to raise and lower it, and means operatively connected with said stirrer to rotate it when said stirrer is in its operative position in said forehearth, said means to raise and lower the upper portion of said column comprising a rotatable vertical jack screw within the column, a nut secured to the vertically movable portion of the column in screw threaded engagement with the jack screw, and means to rotate said jack screw in either of opposite directions about its axis.

5. A stirring apparatus for molten glass in a forehearth comprising a vertical supporting column comprising a tubular lower section rotatably supported at one side of the forehearth and adjacent thereto and a tubular upper section rotatable with the lower section and also movable vertically relative thereto, a rigid laterally projecting arm on said upper section of the column in position to overhang the forehearth when said column has been turned angularly about its axis to one position, a plurality of spaced vertical spindles rotatably mounted on said arm, vertical stirrers operatively connected to the spindles to depend therefrom into the forehearth when said arm is in said overhanging relation to the forehearth, means to move said upper section of said column vertically to position said stirrers in operative positions in the forehearth for service and to raise the stirrers completely out of the forehearth at will, and means to rotate said spindles to operate said stirrers, said means to move said upper section of said column vertically comprising a rotatable vertical jack screw extending through and journaled in said column, a nut fixed to the upper section of the column in threaded engagement with the jack screw, and operating means for the jack screw supported by the lower section of said column.

6. A stirring apparatus as defined by claim 5 wherein said jack screw operating means comprises a rotating shaft adjacent to the jack screw and motion transmitting means operatively disposed between the shaft and the jack screw and including a double throw clutch having an intermediate, neutral position.

7. A stirring apparatus as defined by claim 6 wherein said jack screw operating means includes automatic means to return said clutch to its intermediate, neutral position when said jack screw has been rotated in one direction' to lower I the upper section of said column to a predetermined level.

-8. A stirring apparatus as defined by claim 7 wherein said automatic means comprises a laterally projecting rigid striker on the movable upper section of the column, a normally raised, spring loaded, vertically movable rod positioned beneath and in the path of the descending striker. and a clutch operating member projecting into the 10 path of descent of said rod so as to be actuated thereby when the rod has been moved downward a predetermined distance by said striker.

WILLIAM P. SPIGENER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,727,606 Klausmeyer et a1. Sept. 10, 1929 2,217,182 Peiler Oct. 8, 1940 2,238,800 Mueller Apr. 15, 1941 2,254,046 Pearson Aug. 26, 1941 2,467,809 Cannon et a1. Apr. 19, 1949 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 102,916 Great Britain Jan. 4, 1917 

